Irgun: Revisionist Zionism, 1931–1948
Nov 2020 · Casemate Publishers
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128
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About this ebook
A history of the controversial underground group that employed political violence in its quest to create an independent Israel. Includes photos.
In October 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services described the Irgun Tsvai Leumi—National Military Organization—as "an underground, quasi-military organization with headquarters in Palestine . . . fanatical Zionists who wish to convert Palestine and Transjordan into an independent Jewish state [and] advocate the use of force both against the Arabs and the British to achieve this maximal political goal."
This book delves into the origins and history of Irgun. In 1925, Ze'ev Jabotinsky founded the Revisionist Zionism organization, whose secular, right-wing ideology would lead to the formation of the Irgun and, ultimately, of the Likud Party. Commencing operations in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1931, Irgun adopted a mainly guarding role, while facilitating the ongoing immigration of Jews into Palestine. In 1936, Irgun guerrillas started attacking Arab targets. The British White Paper of 1939 rejected the establishment of a Jewish nation, and as a direct consequence, Irgun guerrillas started targeting the British.
The authorities executed captured Irgun operatives found guilty of terrorism, while deporting hundreds to internment camps overseas. As details of Jewish genocide—the Holocaust—emerged, Irgun declared war on the British in Palestine. Acts of infrastructural sabotage gave way to the bombing of buildings and police stations, the worst being the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem—the hub of British operations and administration—in July 1946, killing ninety-one. Freedom fighters or terrorists, Irgun was only dissolved when the independent Jewish state of Israel was born on May 14, 1948. This is their story.
In October 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services described the Irgun Tsvai Leumi—National Military Organization—as "an underground, quasi-military organization with headquarters in Palestine . . . fanatical Zionists who wish to convert Palestine and Transjordan into an independent Jewish state [and] advocate the use of force both against the Arabs and the British to achieve this maximal political goal."
This book delves into the origins and history of Irgun. In 1925, Ze'ev Jabotinsky founded the Revisionist Zionism organization, whose secular, right-wing ideology would lead to the formation of the Irgun and, ultimately, of the Likud Party. Commencing operations in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1931, Irgun adopted a mainly guarding role, while facilitating the ongoing immigration of Jews into Palestine. In 1936, Irgun guerrillas started attacking Arab targets. The British White Paper of 1939 rejected the establishment of a Jewish nation, and as a direct consequence, Irgun guerrillas started targeting the British.
The authorities executed captured Irgun operatives found guilty of terrorism, while deporting hundreds to internment camps overseas. As details of Jewish genocide—the Holocaust—emerged, Irgun declared war on the British in Palestine. Acts of infrastructural sabotage gave way to the bombing of buildings and police stations, the worst being the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem—the hub of British operations and administration—in July 1946, killing ninety-one. Freedom fighters or terrorists, Irgun was only dissolved when the independent Jewish state of Israel was born on May 14, 1948. This is their story.
About the author
Born in Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, historian and author Gerry van Tonder came to Britain in 1999. Specializing in military history, Gerry has authored multiple books on Rhodesia and the co-authored definitive Rhodesia Regiment 1899–1981. Gerry presented a copy to the regiment's former colonel-in-chief, Her Majesty the Queen.
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